Shoganai
by stubzs87
Summary: "Asuka? Asuka?" came a muffled Australian accented voice, pitched high with worry. "Shit," Asuka hissed, her libido beginning to cool off in a hurry. She had completely forgotten that she agreed to have breakfast with Peyton and Billie that morning. Sequel to Mat Tactics


_**Author's Notes: This isn't a Christmas fic by any means but I felt it would be good to update before then. This is actually one of the first fics (if not the first) that I wrote after finishing Noh Mask. Since then I've written quite a few in between so I had to go back a little and try to keep it in the current line up, but there's a risk that it might still seem like an earlier fic ^^' for that I apologize in advance.**_

_**Regular text in quotes = Spoken Japanese**_  
_**Italic text in quotes = Spoken English**_  
_**Italic text not in quotes = Thoughts**_  
_**Bold text in or out of quotes = emphasis on words**_

_**Translations: Shoganai - "It can't be helped"**_  
_**Kitsune - Fox**_

_**Please enjoy and Happy Holidays~**_

* * *

Sunlight filtered gradually in through the window curtains, causing warm rays to dance across Asuka's shoulder. The suffused sweeping light and heat slowly alerted her to morning's embrace.

Normally she would try to cling to sleep a bit longer, but lately, things had changed. In a lot of ways, the last few months almost felt like a whole lifetime ago.

And in that time, Asuka had gained another reason to look forward to a new day.

Two rangy arms tightened just a small amount around her body as though reminding their owner that in his sleep she had not left him.

A smile pulled at her lips and she opened her eyes to feast on the sight of her man.

Her man.

She could hardly believe she could call Shinsuke Nakamura her man. The concept of it was still such so fresh sometimes.

Just a few months ago she had greeted the days as Shinsuke's friend. Now she was his woman.

Warmth filled her heart at that thought, adding to the heat from the sun and Shinsuke's slumbering body.

Much about the present had changed little from before they had become a couple. And yet there were so many differences. They had woken up in each other's arms countless times over the weeks during which Shinsuke had been merely her comrade.

Now, however, Asuka could gaze at him, could touch him, without fear of making things awkward between two friends.

Shinsuke looked completely at ease, his face washed smooth of any worry or doubt. In direct opposition of the calmness of his countenance was the chaotic state of his hair. His dark brown locks were loose; half of his curly mohawk haloed his head on the pillow. The other half was draped over his shoulder.

Though she could and wanted to touch that serene face, she decided on letting him be while watching him for a little longer. God knew she could never tire of looking at him.

He drifted infinitesimally closer. She barely noticed it except there was a slight friction of her hands against the bare flesh of his back that she hadn't caused herself.

That was another thing that had changed. Last night she had finally gained the courage to coax him into coming to bed without a shirt on.

The request had made her feel like a teenager at the time, stupid and giddy with excitement.

Shinsuke had not hesitated in removing his shirt. But she didn't miss the blush coloring his cheeks, even as he gave her a saucy look and joked, "But shouldn't you also remove something?"

Perhaps he felt as much as a teenager as she did.

Asuka had gone along with the joke, unhooking her bra and pulling it out from under her shirt. His blush increased cutely when she flung it with perfect aim into his face.

"You are a trying woman, aren't you?" he had said as he finally climbed under the covers next to her. His voice had lowered to an octave she never heard it reach before, causing a pleasant shiver to ripple through her.

Asuka shivered again as she remembered how those words had affected her last night.

They hadn't done more than share kisses and some fleeting caresses, but her desire to take it further had been clear in the clenching of her lower belly.

She wanted him so badly she physically ached. Truthfully she had wanted him even before they had gotten together.

So far since becoming a couple, they had kept their romantic interactions fairly virtuous (except for maybe her letting him cop a feel of her breasts). She hadn't wanted to rush their relationship, rather wanted it to grow healthily. She sensed a mutual sentiment in Shinsuke.

Still, waking up with a beautiful, shirtless man in her bed was a strong temptation.

A sudden hum issuing from Shinsuke's chest brought her out of her thoughts.

"Are you going to kiss me or keep staring, Asuka?" he drawled.

"Eh?" she blinked, startled, "How long have you been awake?"

His eyes cracked open slightly. "Only a moment. But I've been feeling a familiar pair of eyes on me for a while now. I think I can even sense you in my sleep."

Was that even a possibility that she could breach his dreams in such a way?

"So how about it? Are you going to kiss me?" Shinsuke asked again, scooting closer still. "Because I don't think I can start my day without at least a peck."

Asuka smiled fully before closing the tiny distance between them, pressing her lips to his.

"Ah. Much. Better," he murmured between kisses.

The combination of his voice and the warmth of his mouth caused her insides to flip-flop again. Her idle hands immediately began to wander, as they were wont to do when Shinsuke kissed her. She combed her fingers through his dark locks then massaged his scalp where his head was shaved.

Such treatment resulted in an almost purring groan vibrating deep from within the chamber of Shinsuke's chest.

Asuka quickly filed that little tidbit away in her brain for later.

Her hand slid down the column of his neck, thumb briefly tracing his pronounced clavicle, then her palm traveled down to explore the expanse of his chest.

Tentatively one of his large hands slipped under her shirt just above her hip. He paused there, seemingly awaiting her reaction. When she gave no indication she saw his touch as an invasion – in fact, it spurred her to kiss him with more fervor – his hand trailed up her waist. There his thumb started a deliberately slow back and forth dance over her ribs.

Fire stoked her belly with every stroke of his calloused fingers, every swipe of his hot tongue. It was all simultaneously too much and not enough.

The mewling sounds that came from her mouth would have been almost embarrassing to her had she had the mind to care. And Shinsuke didn't seem to mind either, eagerly swallowing each of her moans.

His touch, his kisses, his sounds, his scent, the warmth of this body; this man, was encompassing her so much that her world narrowed down to just him and her. Never before had someone consumed her so entirely.

Asuka's mind became momentarily lost among the sensation and her hands became bolder.

She vaguely registered brushing the pad of her thumb over a nipple. His breath hitched as it pebbled beneath her touch. After stroking that circle of flesh a few more times, her hand skirted down his sternum. Her fingers slowed when came to his abdomen, and yet they threatened to move still further south. He let out a growl that sounded almost like a warning.

Instead of scaring her off, that low rumble only seemed to spur her passion for him.

Her fingers skimmed the waistband of his sleeping shorts, lips kissing him earnestly.

Shinsuke tensed, his hand stilling on her skin.

"Shinsuke~," she breathed ardently against his mouth. It was the first time she had ever used his name so intimately. She hadn't been thinking when she said it; it just rolled off her lips.

Suddenly she was on her back staring dumbly up at the ceiling. Her eyes flickered down to find Shinsuke again, but she could only see the top of his head. And—

"Oh!" she gasped as his lips located her hip.

He nipped and sucked the soft flesh there until she was positive there would be mark later. Encouraged by her moans, his hot mouth trailed an agonizingly slow path up her stomach.

At times his stubble scratched pleasantly on her skin. Other times he would lave her torso with his tongue. That motion would drive her body to tremble. She thought that her body was alight enough with sensation, but then he took it up to a whole new level by the simple act of blowing cool air on her saliva-slicked skin.

"S-Shinsuke~," she panted, her hands fisting into his hair.

"Say my name again," he rasped. To further incite her, he hiked her shirt up so that it just covered her chest. He sensually licked the sensitive underside of her breast.

"Shinsuuke~!" she cried. She would say it as many times as needed. Just so long as he would continue this delicious assault on her body.

Shinsuke's warmth abruptly left the upper half of her body. For the first time since he took control, she could see his face. His pupils were blown wide, nearly engulfing his eyes in blackness. Ragged breaths caused his chest to rapidly expand and contract. He had the appearance of a hunter and he was looking at her like she was his next meal. His expression made her body writhe beneath him, seeking friction.

And boy did she find it. He was seriously packing.

_Why are you stopping?!_ she wanted to scream.

His face became slightly pained at her squirming. Disappointment and frustration flashed through his eyes.

What was going on? What had caused these emotions in him?

Then like coming out of a dream, still fuzzy and brain filled with cotton, she slowly noticed the frantic knocking at the door that he must have heard.

"_Asuka? Asuka?"_ came a muffled Australian accented voice, pitched high with worry.

"Shit," Asuka hissed, her libido beginning to cool off in a hurry.

She had completely forgotten that she agreed to have breakfast with Peyton and Billie that morning.

Shinsuke looked both beautifully wrecked and painfully deflated as he reluctantly slid off her body so she could answer the door. Asuka cast one last longing look over her shoulder at him in their bed before she walked to the door.

She had intended to speak with Billie and Peyton in the hotel hallway. However, her plan ended in disaster as Peyton rushed into the room the moment she opened the door, Billie hot on her heels.

"_Are you okay, Asuka?"_ Peyton asked.

"_We thought we heard you scream,"_ added Billie.

"_You look flushed. Do you have a fever?"_ Peyton fired another question.

All Asuka could think was that they were going to see Shinsuke in her room and they were going to jump to all the **right** conclusions – conclusions she wasn't sure Shinsuke, or herself for that matter, wanted everyone in the locker room to be having just yet.

Once again she felt like a teenager, trying to face up to her parents after getting caught with a boy in her room.

"_Uhm…"_ Asuka tried to respond coherently but utterly failed. All she could do was turn around to look at Shinsuke for an answer.

He was gone.

The only trace of him having been there was his luggage, which was conveniently out of the Iconic Duo's field of view. She didn't know where he was hiding, but she thanked all the gods for making him such a ninja.

"_Asuka? What's wrong?"_ Peyton demanded.

Asuka turned the two other women and put on her best look-I'm sick-and-delirious face.

_"I do feel a little…sick,"_ she said, blinking vapidly and placing her palm to her forehead. _"I think I may have cried out in my sleep."_

_"Oh, you poor dear!"_ Billie exclaimed, also feeling her forehead. _"You __**are**__ burning up. Maybe you should call doc."_

"_I don't think that is needed,"_ she then faked a cough. _"Just a fever and sore er…throat."_

Peyton looked both concerned and disappointed, but also resigned herself to Asuka's apparent condition. _"We better call off breakfast and let you rest then…"_

Asuka nodded sadly, apologizing for her condition. She walked with them outside her door to see them off.

_"We'll be back with some Ibuprofen, soup, and cough drops,"_ Billie promised. _"Like a cute little care package!"_

"_I would like that, thank you,"_ Asuka smiled.

Just as the three women were saying their goodbyes, the door to the left of Asuka's room opened just a tiny bit.

The trio all looked in that direction, but couldn't discern whom it was peering out at them. The door hastily closed and there were muffled male voices on the other side. Then a familiar, raucous sounding guffaw erupted from within the room before everything went silent again.

Peyton's pretty face crinkled into a bit of a frown. _"That was weird."_

"_Yeah…"_ Billie agreed. _"And swear I've I heard that laugh before."_

Now that Billie mentioned it, it did sound familiar. It had an American southern twang that was discernable even in a sound as vague as a laugh.

Asuka nodded as well. _"I've heard it before too. But who?"_

"_Beats me. Well, we better get outta here before we find out what's going on in there and end up regretting it,"_ Peyton said while eying the very door they were discussing like it was a disgusting, slimy thing. When she looked to Asuka her smile returned. _"Take care, Asuka!"_

"_Yeah, see ya later with that care package!"_ Billie followed up with a wave.

Asuka couldn't help but giggle at the duo's enthusiasm. _"Bye and thank you!"_ she replied with an answering wave and a small bow.

When she reentered her room Asuka called out to Shinsuke, telling him that he could come out.

He didn't.

She assumed he was playing a trick on her and searched the closet, under the bed, the bathroom and behind the shower curtain. She turned over the entire room, and yet there was no hide or hair of the 6' 2" man.

He was well and truly gone.

"How in the hell did he get out?" she asked the empty room.

Ten minutes later there was another knock at her door.

Asuka expected it to be Billie and Peyton, but it turned out to be Shinsuke. He was dressed in a pair of sweats, a t-shirt, and shoes she had never seen him wear before. They looked a few sizes too big even on his tall frame

"Where did you go?" she asked the moment she let him in. "And did you rob a homeless person or something?"

"Or something," he answered cryptically with a sheepish fox grin.

She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "That was sure close, ya know? If it weren't for your ninja skills we would have been had to explain a lot. By the way, you better use those skills again, because Billie and Peyton are coming back any moment."

Shinsuke groaned, rolling his eyes as he made his way to gather his belongings.

"How come no one bothered us when we were just friends?" he pouted, wheeling his luggage to the door.

"Stop complaining," she said, but patted his arm sympathetically, "at least you didn't have to fake an illness."

He puffed out his cheeks with a dramatic sigh and he looked to the side with an almost embarrassed expression.

"Relax, Shinsuke. You men can be such babies," she crossed her arms, "Now are you just going to sulk or are you gonna kiss me?"

Feigning offense, Shinsuke pursed his lips and looked at his nails. "I don't know…you called me a baby. Besides, aren't you supposed to be ill?"

Instead of giving him the reaction he had been hoping for, she shrugged and turned away from him. "That's fine. I can survive without a kiss for a few hours. See ya, at SmackDown!"

"Oh no you won't!" he exclaimed.

Asuka couldn't contain her giggles as Shinsuke spun her around and dipped her low for a kiss.

Before he left her room again, she poked her head out first to make sure he had a clear path of anyone that they knew from work.

"See you later," he said, sneaking another kiss.

"Bye," she replied, the added jokingly, "And give the homeless person his clothes back."

"Ha ha," he tossed back as he made his way nonchalantly down the hallway.

Peyton and Billie returned with their promised care package. Asuka pretended to feel a little better and the three of them talked for a little bit before the two Australian women took their leave again.

She met up with Shinsuke again just after she checked out of their room. She texted him that she was getting ready to leave, to which he replied that he would be waiting for her at their rental car. When she arrived she found him where he said he would be, a small paper sack in his hands.

"Here," he thrust the bag in her direction. "It's not much and they're not your favorite. But I saw them while I was out and I thought you would like them."

Asuka tilted her head and accepted the bag. "What's this? A one-month anniversary gift?"

His only answer was to look to the side as he scratched the side of his face. But the pink of his cheeks gave him away.

"How very sweet of you~" she hugged him around the middle, managing to peel a chuckle out of him.

Inside the bag was a box of regular strawberry pocky. It wasn't giant rainbow pocky, but strawberry was her favorite amongst the assorted flavors of the rainbow."

"Strawberry," she smiled brightly. "How did you know?"

Shinsuke shrugged, but she could tell he was inwardly pleased with himself. "A lucky guess, I'm sure."

Hours later Asuka was sitting backstage with several other women and men, wrestlers and staff alike. Her match had already come and gone, so she was free to pretty much do as she pleased with her time. Some of her co-workers were hanging out in little groups, chatting. Others were sitting and watching matches intently on the monitor.

For a little while, Asuka gave herself over to talking with Becky, Charlotte, Naomi, Jimmy, Xavier, Kofi, and Big E.

Of course the topic of video games came up because most of them enjoyed video games at varying levels. Xavier even went so far as setting up the gaming PC so they could while away the time playing from his vast collection of games.

The idea of having all her favorite games, past and present, at her fingertips on the road made Asuka interested in Xavier's gaming system. She asked him about the specs and he enthusiastically answered all her questions. He also sent her a text containing all the important details in case things got lost in translation.

Then it was time for Shinsuke's match. Asuka's eyes became instantly glued to the screen.

After they had arrived at the arena, they had little time together due to Billie and Peyton whisking her away to see Doctor Ammand. Asuka had glanced at Shinsuke for help, but he just smiled his mischievous fox grin and allowed them to "kidnap" her. Then her match had been early on the card so she had to get ready.

By the time her match was over, Shinsuke had to get ready for his. The only time she had contact with him was in the hallway. He gave her a slow wink and told her "You looked great" as he passed.

She was so starved for a mere moment of Shinsuke's time that she was utterly oblivious to everything outside of her boyfriend's movements on the monitor on the wall before her. That was until a male torso blocked her view.

_"Ah, just the person I wanted to see!"  
_

Asuka held her tongue lashing at being denied Shinsuke yet again upon recognizing the Georgian accent. It was AJ Styles.

"_Eh? Me?"_ she asked with a hand gesture towards herself.

"_Yeah. C'mon with me for a moment,"_ he beckoned.

Asuka blinked in confusion as to why he'd want to talk to her and why it couldn't be said in the presence of everyone else. But surely he had his reasons, so she politely excused herself from her friends. She stopped briefly to gaze forlornly at the mini Shinsuke still performing on the monitor before following AJ around the corner.

AJ scanned the hallway they now occupied for foot traffic. Only when he deemed to be safe from prying ears and eyes did he speak again.

He started out with a sort of chuckle. _"I hope you're ready for a good story, 'cause I've got one."_

"_Story?"_ Asuka parroted, once again bewildered by the older man. _"Oh…okay,"_ she smiled and gestured for him to continue.

"_Okay, it starts off like this,"_ he paused as though trying to decipher the images in his head into words. _"So this morning, I'm roomin' with Luke and Karl as usual, and we're all still mostly asleep."_

His hands then went up as though to gesticulate surprise. _"Then all of a sudden I hear something. Sounded like something fiddlin' with the window. Karl and Luke heard it as well, but we all just lay frozen in our beds for a few moments trying to understand what or who could be messin' with our hotel window. I mean it's three stories up in the air!"  
_

Asuka had to hand it to AJ; he was quite the storyteller. Had she been in a chair, she'd be at the edge it due to the suspense he was building with his words.

"_What happened next?"_ she asked, anticipation at the revelation thick in her voice.

"_Well…that fiddling sound…it became a knock, which quickly turned into a frantic banging. Finally Luke jumps up; he's the biggest one of us after all. He gets up to see what the ruckus is all about. He then starts chucklin' and says, 'I think we've got some company'. Karl and I jump up, and what do we see?" _

He then paused for dramatic effect.

"_What did you see?"_ she urged.

AJ opened his mouth to continue but when he did, his composure fractured and he let out a barely contained belly laugh.

A laugh that sounded so very familiar to the one she had heard with Peyton and Billie earlier—

_Oh no…it couldn't be possible…_

By the time he was able to get the words out, he had tears of laughter streaming down his face and he was near breathless. _"S-Shins-suke…Nakam-mura." _He then bit a little into his fist to keep from laughing again. Though he was being a little boisterous, he was still consciously trying to keep from alerting anyone to their location.

So that's where Shinsuke had gone.

Asuka's first instinct was to feel worry and embarrassment for her man. _Is he okay?_ But then an image of Shinsuke clinging to the outside of AJ's window like a true ninja flashed unbidden in her mind. And her imagination could be quite whimsical.

She wanted to laugh along with AJ, but part of her felt the need to preserve Shinsuke's honor.

Her lips twitched into a smile.

Damn it was sure hard though.

She coughed to hide her urge to giggle. "_So…why was Nakamura-san outside your window?"_ she asked innocently. There was also the task of deflecting AJ from detecting the real reason of Shinsuke's fleeing into The Clubs' room.

"_I had that exact thought as Luke gave Nakamura mercy and opened the window." _AJ continued. _"Nakamura climbs in and waltz into the room as though he does this sort of thing all the time. And mind you, he's wearin' nothing but shorts."  
_

"_Oh wow!"_ she gasped, pretending to be surprised.

"_So I ask Nakamura why he was outside our window,"_ he went on. _"He just shakes his head and helps himself to a glass of water. We try all manner of questioning, but he either won't answer, or he just says somethin' in Japanese that I can't make out."  
_

Asuka let out a tiny sigh of relief. They hadn't been found out yet.

_"We realize that Nakamura's not going to talk. So I send Karl over to the check out the rooms on either side. One of them had to be where Nakamura had come from. Nakamura sits stone still but I can tell he wants to stop him. Karl only gets as far as peeking through the door before he comes back in saying 'Asuka's staying in the next room.' All three of us look at Nakamura, and man, his face was red like a tomato. I couldn't help it, I lost it."_

Asuka felt her own face burning from neck to hairline. The embarrassment she felt for Shinsuke's plight at having to escape into the next room was nothing in comparison to their secret being exposed.

Only one person knew of their relationship, their mutual friend Sin Cara, who had made an educated guess at their status. But they knew him enough to be trustworthy. And so far he had proved to be just that.

She had hoped to tell the rest of their friends and co-workers when they were both ready. Now those plans were completely dashed. Soon surely half of the locker room would know if they didn't already.

Hands shaking, she covered her face in a vain attempt to hide her blush and keep the threatening tears at bay.

"_Oh shit…"_ she heard AJ curse. His hand patted her shoulder reassuringly. _"Hey, I didn't mean to upset you. God, I'm so stupid sometimes. Look, Karl, Luke, and I, we haven't told anyone. That's up to you and Nakamura. And I didn't tell you all of this as a means to embarrass you or anything."_

Asuka swallowed down her emotions – a swirl of anxiousness and even anger – and removed her hands so she could peer up at him. _"Is that the truth?"_ she asked.

"_Of course,"_ he replied, brows knitted together in concern. _"I wanted you to know because what he did __**was**__ kind of funny. But also really stupid. Men don't like to worry their women, so I doubt he's told you about his little stunt, right?"_

She shook her head.

"_I thought so,"_ he gave a tiny sigh. _"Well like I said, I wanted you to know. So you could, you know, make sure he takes care of himself. Okay?"_ He offered her a small smile, which she slowly returned. _"We good?"_ he asked.

"Yes," she answered with a more confident smile.

AJ pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Good."

He patted her shoulder one more time before letting her return to her friends. By then Shinsuke's match was over with, however, she oddly didn't feel too bad about missing much of it. Her talk with AJ put her at a sense of ease with the idea of others knowing about her and Shinsuke's relationship.

Still, their conversation had proven to be such an emotional rollercoaster for her that after returning to her group – now with Billie and Peyton added to the mix – she decided to pull out the box of pocky that Shinsuke had given to her earlier. She needed the tiny sugar boost.

Moments later Shinsuke came around the corner. He was still in his ring gear and he had a towel draped around his shoulders. He grinned upon seeing her and swaggered over. Despite his hair tumbling messily to one side and sweat glistening his body, he looked good enough to eat.

Then the image of him hanging comically outside of AJ's window resurfaced quite suddenly, so much so that her first outward reaction was to burst out giggling.

Shinsuke paused before her, a dark brow raised. "What's wrong with you?"

Asuka tried to answer him but failed the first two times. On the third attempt, she was able to get out between giggles, "You. Climbed. Over. To AJ's. Window!"

Crossing his arms, Shinsuke shifted his weight from one foot to the other. A blush began to color his face from his ears to his cheeks. She could see his chagrin, and she did her damnedest to quell her laughter. However, his cute pout only seemed to fuel it even more.

Vaguely she heard Becky remark, _"I don't know what's going on, but can I have some of Asuka's happy juice?" _Everyone else in their little group seemed content to quietly watch her exchange with Shinsuke.

"So…you think that was funny?" Shinsuke asked after she had managed to calm down some.

Asuka considered her answer but knew after her display of emotions that she'd never get this one passed him.

She nodded sheepishly. "Kind of."

Shinsuke's foot began tapping a rhythm. His penetrating gaze boring into her eyes, into her soul.

God, she could hardly handle it when he looked at her like that. In order to escape the heat of his stare, she averted her eyes and popped another stick of pocky into her mouth.

"_Pocky Game!"_ She heard Shinsuke shout and the next thing she knew he had plucked the biscuit from her mouth and replaced it with his lips.

Astonishment overcame her at his unforeseen kiss and she squealed in both excitement and embarrassment.

Around her was another eruption of sound as choruses of "Oh's" and other words of surprised echoed among their friends and anyone else that seemed to be in the area.

Too soon Shinsuke pulled away. He smirked teasingly at her; clearly happy with the expression his actions had left on her face. She could feel her jaw had nearly hit the ground.

Then the smug bastard ate her pocky.

"_Who is laughing now,_ _Devil Woman_?" he asked, munching on the biscuit. Then he gave her a few deliberate pats on the head.

Now she understood how AJ felt when Shinsuke pulled that condescending move.

Her embarrassment long forgotten Asuka's body acted on its own accord the moment he turned his back on her. She pounced on him and immediately applied a looser version of her Asuka lock. Shinsuke stumbled purposefully, pretending to lose consciousness as he gradually melted into a heap on the floor.

Asuka jumped off his back and rolled him over to find his irresistible kitsune smile in place.

"Pain in the ass," she tutted before leaning down to kiss the smirk off his face.

Cheers exploded from their surrounding peers, taking her return of Shinsuke's kiss as a complete confirmation of their relationship. Asuka smiled against his mouth, happy that the response of the people around them was overwhelmingly positive.

"None of what happened today could've been helped," Shinsuke winked up at her after they broke apart for air. "No matter how much we tried to hold it back like a broken dam. What's the sense in worrying about it now, or continuing to skulk around our friends, right?"

"Maybe so," she replied. "But as funny as it turned out, next time you decide to play ninja, try not to do it from three stories off the ground. Got it?"

"I'll try, but I can't guarantee anything."

"You're insufferable." she playfully pinched his cheeks together with one hand before kissing him soundly.

Perhaps it was her imagination, but Asuka thought she heard Carmella's voice exclaim amidst the cacophony of the small crowd, _"I knew they were together! You bunch of losers all owe me a $100 bucks!"_

Asuka was unsure of how many people were in on Carmella's bet. She didn't care. No longer did she have to hide her status with Shinsuke Nakamura – from her co-workers at least. The fans…they could wait a little bit longer.

The only thing that carried weight at the moment was that Shinsuke's lips were unabashedly occupying hers.

* * *

_**Author's notes: Well their relationship is finally out to everyone on SmackDown as a whole (but seems Carmella also knew all along and was taking bets) Decided since they weren't doing anything towards letting others know that it would be funny if it was taken out of their hands. Hope this was enjoyable and any comments are appreciated**_.


End file.
